Archaeologists who analysed bodies found in ancient Egypt's royal tombs have suggested servants were killed with blows to their heads and buried with their rulers. After examining the remains, experts said the deaths may have formed part of a ritual known as retainer sacrifice, which was believed to allow rulers to keep their attendants in the afterlife.
Evidence of fatal cranial trauma
Researchers analysed 46 skulls of people buried around the funerary enclosures of three First Dynasty rulers at Abydos in southern Egypt, a site excavated by British Egyptologist Sir Flinders Petrie in the 1920s. Using modern forensic techniques, the researchers looked for signs of injuries sustained by the individuals around the time of death.
The research, published in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, found that many of the injuries were linear fractures likely caused by flat objects. The exact circumstances of the deaths remain unclear, although the study identified at least 18 cases of fatal cranial trauma. Researchers also suggested that 39 per cent of the individuals examined may have been killed by blows to the head.
Ritual practice in the First Dynasty
Lead author Dr Roselyn Campbell from Purdue University said: "Retainer sacrifice is a type of human sacrifice where those close to a ruler are killed when the ruler dies. In many cultures, retainer sacrifice is practised because of beliefs that the sacrificed individuals will continue to serve the ruler in some kind of afterlife, but retainer sacrifice can also be a visceral display of the ruler's power. Some retainers might have volunteered to die to achieve eternal life or honour; others may have been chosen or even forced."
Dr Campbell added: "The injuries on the preserved crania are generally linear fractures, which would likely cause rapid unconsciousness, internal bleeding and death."
Experts also noted that this kind of sacrifice largely occurred during the Second Dynasty (2890BC – 2686BC). According to these new forensic studies, the killings occurred between 3100BC and 2900BC, during Egypt's First Dynasty, marked by the rule of early pharaohs.
